The shape of my heart
by viktriap
Summary: This is a story from Cole's past. Absolutely preCharmedOnes, but a character from season 7 appears. Cole has a new assignment from the Source but it might be a little bit to much for him.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note**: I know I've been away for a long-long time, but unfortunatel I didn't have the opportunity to upload or to get near a computer for a longer time. But I've written a lot and now I hope I'm back to the track. Probably I shouldn't start a new story before I finish the on-going ones, but I couldn't withstand this one. I promise though that I will soon upload - if those who are interested are still out there!

Disclaimer: Of course I still don't own anything.

Read and enjoy and please let me know what you think!

**The shape of my heart**

Chapter 1.

The guard stepped inside the cave and Cole heard as he reported:

„Belthazor is here, My Liege!"

„Let him in" the deep and hoarse voice answered. A long time ago Cole used to shiver when he heard that voice, by now though he was over those childish feelings. Fear or even disgust meant weakness and demons weren't allowed to be weak.

The guard came back and waved him in.

The room that from the outside looked like a cave was the personal quarter of the Source of All Evil. It was a dark place in every sense. It was only lightened by some torches on the wall and it radiated cruelness and malignancy. But this was another thing Cole was used to.

Despite everything the room itself seemed to be rather comfortable. Demons might live in the Underworld but they liked amenities. So there was nothing cave-like in it except maybe for the form. A huge table dominated the room that was surrounded by ten armchairs. One of those was more decorated than the others, and that one was occupied by the Source.

The private quarter of the Ruler consisted of more rooms than Cole could even imagine but this was the only one he could ever see. This was the place where the Source dispatched business.

In the moment he stepped inside Cole bowed his head and waited.

"I've heard of your latest success, Belthazor. I appreciate your service."

"Thank you, My Lord."

The Source admonished him closer.

"I have a new task for you."

This was nothing new. Most of the time, he was sent from one mission to the other, but usually he had at least one or two days to rest. Now though he's only arrived back two hours ago. And he normally got his assignments from Raynor, or one of his minions, not from the Source himself. He stayed quiet however, and didn't show any surprise. The Source continued:

"There are some rebels who have conspired against me for a time now. They seek out my loyal followers and try to persuade them to join their ranks. I decided to take care of their so-called leader and I want you to eliminate him."

"His name is Zankou" the Source finished after a short pause.

Cole took it without flinching. Of course, he heard about Zankou, who hasn't? He was one of the most powerful demons in the Underworld and everybody knew that he was hungry for even more power. This wasn't the first conspiracy he led against the Source – if Zankou could have eliminated the Ruler, he would have been the most probable candidate for the throne. Not just because his power but because of his blood as well. Namely, he was the second-born son of the present Source. The first born was dead – died by the hands of his own father, and now this destiny waited the second as well.

"I'm at your service, My Lord" he answered the awaited words and waited if his master wanted to tell anything else.

"I don't want him dead though" the Source added. "Just bring him to me!" then he waved. "You can go now!"

He bowed again and left with his new assignment and a lot of trouble.

Half an hour later he was rummaging around in his quarter for something he could use against such a powerful enemy. In the moment the Source announced the target he realized that he practically had no chance. But he wasn't famous for giving up easily.

He's already looked over some books and now was searching amongst the many vials he stocked.

His quarter was much more cave-like than that of the Source. It was small, dark, messy and rather poorly arranged. Only the two shelves were well-ordered. On one of them were the different potions, on the other his weapons.

His clothes he had in an old suitcase that he picked up somewhere years ago, and books lied everywhere in the room: on the small table, in front of the open fire (that was magical and was designed to remind one of the fireplace of a human household), on the ground and on his so-called bed (that was nothing more than rectangle-formed exostosis of the rocky wall).

He just decided that none of his potions were strong enough for Zankou when he heard the noise of shimmering. Instinctively an energy-ball appeared in his left hand.

"I hope you don't plan to shot that at me" the familiar voice said before the form of the middle-aged man materialized in the room.

"Raynor" he nodded in a respectful manner and extinguished the energy-ball.

"Who else? If I remember well you have wards against illicit shimmerings."

"You can never be careful enough. I've learned it from you."

"Oh, yes. I've been always somewhat paranoid, haven't I?" of course it was a poetic question and Cole didn't spend the time to answer it. "Vornac told me you were back and also that you were immediately summoned to the Source. I guess you got your new job then."

"Yes. Probably the last one" he mumbled under his nose.

"Our ruler asked me, if you were capable of killing Zankou" Raynor continued without minding his student's comment. "I told him you weren't."

"Thanks for the trust."

"You've just confirmed that you thought the same." Cole could tell the Raynor was amused by the situation. The demon was quite unpredictable and impenetrable, but he always had some ulterior motive.

"Why are you here?" Cole asked his former teacher openly.

"Can't I visit my favorite student for a chat?"

"You never chat. Did you want to say me good-bye or what?"

"Don't be impudent, my boy!" but he still wasn't angry. "I came to help you with some information."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? If you manage it will be a glory for the Brotherhood."

"But this isn't a Brotherhood-mission, is it?"

"No, it isn't. But you are still a member."

"I see. If I win you also win, but if I fail, it's only my fault and not yours" Cole concluded rolling his eyes.

"Clever boy. Now listen: Zankou is always guarded by his minions. He alone is powerful enough to kill you, but with his demons around you really have no chance. But he has one weak point: women – or more accurately succubus-demons. When he meets one of them, he always goes alone, once every week but I can't tell the day as he changes it all the time. There you can overrun him, because he is not just alone but he's also more careless and weaker than normally."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't disappoint me" with that he started to shimmer but Cole wanted to know something else.

"Wait!" the older demon stopped. "Can I ask you one more question?"

"What is it?"

"If you told the Source that I wasn't capable of the task why did he still chose me?"

"Because I also told him that none of the attainable assassins are. And I said if we had to chose somebody, you were the best."

With that he shimmered out leaving Cole wondering if this was a compliment or his death warrant.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **So, here's the second chapter. This is the longest action-scen I've ever written (if I think about it, it might be the first real one!), but it's definetely the longest scene without a dialoge in my life! I'm really interested in your opinions, so please review! And most importantly: Thank you for reading!

**The shape of my heart**

Chapter 2.

Cole stood in the window-frame of his motel-room and waited. He's waited in the last five days patiently, watching that room in the opposite building. He hasn't left the room since Tuesday except his small trip two days ago when he visited the succubus' flat and deactivated some of the wards that surrounded the apartment.

He found this particular succubus quite easily. The others were jealous of her because of Zankou and she didn't make a secret of it that she's earned a lot of money recently.

Succubus-demons lived amongst the humans. Most humans thought them to be plain prostitutes – of course, from the luxury-kind, but all the same – and in a way they were right. This kind of demons gave sex for money or for power but mostly for your soul, if you were a human.

Cole had to admit that this one was the master of her art, she was beautiful and her body was perfect. Her name was Sora and she lived in an apartment-house, fortunately for Cole just opposite to a motel. So now he was staying in his rented room and waited for Zankou to arrive.

Despite the circumstances he wasn't nervous at all. Maybe because he wasn't afraid of dieing. Actually, he didn't feel anything while he was working on a job. He's learned it long how to suppress all his emotions. Of course, he _shouldn't suppress them _- if he were a proper demon – as Raynor and others told him so many times, because he shouldn't have emotions in the first place. But this wasn't the time to think about it and he concentrated back of the flat.

He felt that this was _the_ day. The succubus behaved differently. There were no clients the whole day and this was more than unusual. She also has been smoldering for quite a while: making her hair, picking at her dresses and arranging the huge bed that occupied the whole bedroom. So Cole was sure that Zankou was coming and he was ready to attack.

He didn't have to wait much longer. At exactly 11:00 p.m. without warning a tall, black-haired man appeared in the bedroom. Not a second later Sora started to undress him seductively and soon they were making out in blind passion. Cole still waited. A succubus tired out everybody, even the most powerful demons and Cole needed every single advantage he could get.

To tell the truth they went on for an amazingly long time. Then about four hours later Zankou started to prepare for leaving.

Cole checked the athame that was in a leather-socket on his side and the vial of potion in his pocket, then he shimmered. The next moment he appeared in the bedroom, already shooting an energy-ball at his target. It hit Zankou on the shoulder and sent back into the wall, but he didn't fall. Cole pulled out the vial and threw it – it contained a strong strength-stripping potion. It probably wasn't strong enough to rob Zankou of all of his powers, but enough to weaken him significantly.

Cole always had speed – even by demon-standards, but Zankou was faster. The other demon waved and the vial hit the succubus instead of him. The female fell to the floor, screaming. But Cole wasn't interested in the woman – he threw a second energy-ball and dodged the one that Zankous sent his way.

The wardrobe exploded into pieces, covering the room with every kind of clothes and fragments of wood. The demoness was still screaming, but Cole heard shouting from the corridor as well.

With one quick look he measured the field. There was no real cover. Left the door to the living-room, right the hall from where two doors opened, one into the kitchen and the other into the bathroom.

He then turned back to his enemy. Zankou was pulling himself together, so Cole shot out another energy-ball and shimmered. Of course not out of the room but to Zankou's side. He tackled the other demon down bodily, the athame already in his hand cutting down with absolute precision.

Just before the contact he felt an iron grip on his wrist. The point of the knife lingered millimeters from Zankou's throat, but Cole simply couldn't move it further. Before he could do anything – for example turn into his demon-form, which he didn't really like – Zankou made a reeling motion and the bones in his wrist cracked well audibly.

The knife fell from his hand and the next second an enormous power pushed him backwards so hard that he flew a few meters and crashed into the back-wall of the room. He jumped up immediately and changed in mid-step – there was not time for niceties this time. Zankou was also on his feet and he changed in demon-form as well. His skin, unlike Belthazor's, was almost totally black with lighter, grey marks on it.

_If you are at disadvantage, don't hesitate, but attack! _This was one of the first lessons Cole learned during his training – and so he did, without any second thoughts. When fighting he was in almost automatic mode – he always worked on an instictal level.

He attacked with all his strength. His opponent stood firmly, though.Belthazor punched him a few times, probably breaking his nose. Then got a hard blow in the stomach and stumbled backwards. Zankou utilized his unbalance and jumped at him.

They fell through the door and into the living-room. They landed on the glass coffe-table breaking it into million pieces. Cole felt blood flowing down his back but the fall unbalanced Zankou as well. Instantly, Cole changed back into his human form, because he was much faster and more mobile that way. He slid out from the grip, with the same movement kicking the back of Zankou's knees, making him fall for a moment. Cole jumped, stretched out his arm and the enchanted athame appeared in his hand.

He heard something – shouting maybe – and even saw something from the corner of his eyes, but had no time to care about it. He launched forward aiming for the left side of the other's back where he knew he would hit something vital. Of course, the Source wanted Zankou alive but he couldn't fulfill this task if he didn't wounded him critically.

He heard the shouting more loudly and from much closer this time and then something hit him on the back, on the shoulder-blade. He stumbled and missed the aim. He still cut into flesh but it wasn't a serious wound by any means. From Zankou came an angry growl. Cole pulled back the athame and turned to the door.

Two human police-officers stood there with aimed weapons and with panicking looks. They both moved their guns between the strange creature and the man who wanted to kill 'it'. They seemingly couldn't decide which one to shoot first. They didn't have more time to think about it though. One of them was hit in the throat with the athame and fell back with a rattling sound. The other died by an energy-ball. Cole didn't even stop to throw another look at the fallen humans, he was already back to face Zankou.

He had to dodge an energy-ball and shot one back blindly. It hit the wall making a huge hole in it, where the stunned face of a human appeared. After that all hell broke loose. Energy balls flew in rapid row and the room soon became shambles. The chandelier collapsed, the bar in the corner exploded into pieces and on the wallthree more holes evolved. The dead body of the police officer caught fire andsmoke made the air choking. One of the energy-balls hit Cole on the thigh and it slowed him down notably.

He had to come up with an idea soon, because what he did now wasn't really effective. To be honest he got more tired with every second while Zankou didn't seem to feel the strain at all.

He found temporary cover behind an upturned couch that was already smoking and then caught fire. He jumped up not caring the pain he felt in his leg and shot energy into the ceiling above Zankou. Big pieces of concrete came crashing down followed by the screams of the neighbors. Fortunately some of the debris hit the demon and he collapsed to the floor, his head bleeding. Cole needed his athame though because it was obvious that his energy-balls couldn't cause serious damage to Zankou.

His shimmered to the corpse of the human. In the thick smoke it took a moment to find the knife but he found it quickly. He could have a look to the corridor and he realized that they made quite a show: more and more neighbors were running up and down, screaming and in obvious panic. He could also hear sirens from the street.

He grabbed the athame and shimmered back to the pile where he saw Zankou fall.

But the demon wasn't there and before Cole could find out where his opponent had gone, burning pain shot through his left side as an energy-ball hit him again and he fell backwards. He couldn't even regain his balance when Zankou was already on his neck. The unstoppable wave of power which he had felt before shoved him again, into the wall with such force that the already crumbling wall broke through.

It was a hard fall. The impact knocked the air out of him, his vision blackened for a second and he felt some other bones breaking in his body. He looked around dizzily and realized that he was in the adjoining flat. With two stunned little children staring at him with wide eyes.

Cole staggered to the feet. He moved extremely slowly – his chances got lower with every passing second. His body wanted to quit, he felt sticking blood covering his back either from the bullet-wound or from the numerous cuts he suffered when he fell on the glass table. His left side burnt with pain and he could barely use his right hand with the broken wrist. It was time to give up and vanish from here.

In that exact moment when he decided this, Zankou came through the hole with an energy ball hovering over his palm.

Cole threw a quick glance at the children, then looked back at Zankou. He couldn't change it, children always have been his weak point. He's never been able to kill a child and cold never bear to watch them dieing. The grey demon stole the glance and smiled wickedly.

Cole cautiously stepped in front of the children and Zankou followed his movements. They were like two predators that were skirting each-other. Cole felt his own energy-ball in his hand – he never even realized when he conjured it! The only thing that led him at this point was pure instinct.

_Now or never… _The idea came suddenly and naturally. Cole shot the energy-ball at his enemy, rushed forward and changed into Belthazor – all three at the same second. He didn't stop when his body contacted with the other and the swing moved both of them further, through the balcony-door. The banter stopped them for a millisecond but then they were falling freely.

He knew of course that Zankou wouldn't wait to splash on the street, but also knew that he wouldn't go back to kill the children, either. At least they were saved. With this thought he let go off Zankou and shimmered.

He appeared in front of his quarter – he wanted to arrive _in it_ – and this small mistake showed how run-down he really was. Quite miraculously he landed on his two feet, though a little bit shaky. He still managed the few trembling steps into the cave, put up his wards and then collapsed.

-------------------------


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **First of all: Thank you very much for the reviews! Second: there's an OC I created, so you might want to read my other Charmed-story: Int the darkness, but I think this one is clear without it, either! (But please, read that one too, if you like this :) )

Three: Dear Sehar, the last part of this chapter was added to let Phoebe appear for a moment. But I'm sorry she won't be in this story, because takes place a long time before she came into the picture. She might not be even born yet... but I'm not so sure about the year!

So, again: Thanks for reading and enjoy! And please, please review again, it really brights my day!

**The shape of my heart**

Chapter 3.

It was a long time ago when he was so badly off. His legs simply didn't want to support him and he needed to grab the small table to help him stand up. His legs still wanted to slid out from under him but he took a few deep breathes and stopped the trembling. He needed a healing potion, some hot water and bandages for the deeper wounds…

He didn't have the opportunity though to work out this plan as he heard knocking or rather pounding on his door. He knew who it was and also knew that he had no other choice than to let him in.

"You don't look to well, Belthazor!" the demon said in a mocking tone as soon as he stepped inside. His name was Declan and he was one of the Source's guards. The leader of the guards to be precise. He also hated and despised Belthazor, but to tell the truth Cole couldn't care less. He was rather used to being contemned by the pure-blooded demons.

"What do you want?" he asked instead and straightened to full height. He couldn't afford to show any signs of weakness in front of Declan or in front of anybody in the Underworld.

"Always to the point… But if you insist: Our Lord wants to talk with you about your recent failure!" the demon said with a cruel smile.

_Talking… _Cole knew what talking usually meant and he didn't really feel up to meet a disappointed and probably angry ruler of the Underworld. But he wasn't given a choice.

"Now!" Declan rumbled and grabbed his arm to drag him with.

Cole might havebeen in a huge trouble but he still had his dignity, so he quickly freed himself from the grasp.

"I can walk on my own, thank you" he commented dryly and followed the guard, taking care of not to limp during the whole time.

----------------

When they stepped into the cave Declan pushed Cole forward.

"I brought him, My Lord!"

The Source stood up and looked Cole up and down. The half-demon couldn't see the Ruler's face because of the hood he wore, but he could easily imagine the disgusted frown.

"I'm very disappointed" the Source said slowly. "Can you explain your failure?"

"No, My Lord."

Cole bowed his head and waited. It wouldn't be wise to anger the Source at this point.

"No…" he repeated thoughtfully. "Then I have to assume that you didn't try hard enough."

Cole didn't tell a word. There was no use in arguing and he would have never admitted that he wasn't strong enough to win over Zankou. You simply didn't admit such things in the Underworld.

He instead gritted his teeth and prepared himself for the punishment.

The energy-beam that the Source shot at him burnt every nerve ending in his body and sent him to the floor. His body was convulsing and many cuts and wounds were torn open again. He didn't scream though. He learned it a long time ago that screaming didn't make it lighter, quite the contrary, demons loved it to hear their victims screaming.

It took a lot of time, his punishment. The problem was that Cole didn't black out that easily which was an advantage in fight but not now, because the Source never stopped until he lost consciousness. He didn't know how long it lasted in the end, but it surely felt like hours. Then at last his broken wrist somehow got stuck under his side and_ that pain _cut through all the others. He almost screamed out then, but before he could commit this mistake everything went black.

He woke up not too much time later, when he was dragged by two demons along a tunnel. When they arrived in front of his quarter the dropped him down unceremoniously.

"I have a message from our Lord" one of the guards bent close to his ears. "The assignment is still yours. You have two weeks." With that they left.

_Great… two weeks. Why does He think that I will manage better a second time?_

But of course one didn't ask such questions from the Source, especially if this person wanted to stay alive for a while, yet.

Now though his first priority was to find a place, where he could heal in peace, so he shimmered to the only safe place he's ever known.

--------------

This place was a small country house near the sea-coast in Maine and it belonged to Rose Turner. She was in the kitchen preparing something for dinner when she heard the typical noise of somebody shimmering in. She could easily identify the person arriving and she turned to welcome her brother. But then there was a loud crash as Cole fell and pulled half of the dishes with him.

"Oh, shit…" the young woman exclaimed and kneeled to her brother's side.

"I'm glad to see you…" the injured demon whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah… it's a shame I can't tell you the same… Come, let's take you to bed. Can you shimmer upstairs?"

"Don't think so…"

"All right, but in this case you have to try and stand up. It's only five steps to the living-room."

First it seemed impossible, but for the third try and with the help of his sister Cole managed the few steps to the couch where he collapsed. The dinner was forgotten and the next two hours Rose spent with cleaning and bandaging the numerous injuries her brother suffered.

As he let her take care of him his thoughts wondered away and not for the first time he started to think about their relationship. He knew it was something unique. In the Underworld siblings either were allies or more usually rivals but it neither case had they emotions for eachother!

Cole couldn't name what he felt for his sister, but he always felt safe in her presence and missed her when they were apart for a longer period. He also knew that he would do anything to save her from any harm. He sometimes wondered if this was what the humans called love, but he always rejected the idea. He simply couldn't believe that he were capable of such _human _feelings.

_And on the other hand love must be something more radical! _he thought.

Cole spent a lot of time in the human world and studied how humans behaved with each-other. He guessed if a human studied _them _he would have thought them cold. The two of themnever hugged or kissed each other, never shared loving or encouraging words, but at least they always could be honest…

Sharp pain woke him from his daydreaming and he involuntary moaned.

"Sorry, but I'm not a healer" Rose said.

"Never mind. You're better than most demonic healers. Here at least I don't have to worry whether you want to steal my powers or not." He said with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, right. Don't tempt me. By the way I'm ready."

"Thanks."

"I wouldn't say that you're welcome any time… You should sleep in demon-form, you heal quicker that way."

"You know I don't like it."

Rose shrugged and stood up to leave.

"I'll be in the garden if you need anything. And now sleep."

She didn't have to tell it twice.

-------------------

"What happened?" asked Rose much later when Cole had already slept out most of his pains.

He looked still ragged but he walked into the kitchen and was eating some soup at the moment. Rose was rummaging around and moved with such grace that a stranger wouldn't have believed that she was blind. Cole knew though that she lost this ability in unfamiliar environment and this made her quite vulnerable.

"I failed" he answered simply. He didn't have to look at his sister's face to know, she was frowning.

"And more detailed?"

"He sent me after Zankou."

"You are kidding…"

"No, I'm not."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"You aren't very talkative."

"It was nothing special, just another task."

Rose put down two sandwiches in front of him and sat down.

"Why didn't he charged the Brotherhood with this?"

"You know that he likes to test his people."

"You mean he likes to test _you!"_

Cole smiled and however Rose couldn't see it she frowned again.

"There's nothing funny about this. You could have died!"

"And who would care?"

"Me!" She jumped and rushed out of the kitchen. Cole heard that she knocked something over on her way.

He raised one eyebrow in surprise. Rose usually wasn't so emotional. He couldn't even count how many times he appeared on his door-step in a state like this and she never got upset.

He stood up and walked after her.

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you think something is wrong?"

"You aren't this hysteric normally."

"I'm not hysteric" she said quietly.

"You saw something, right?"

"I can't see."

"Rose, you know what I'm talking about!"

She sighed and dropped down on the couch.

Rose was once a potential Seer but seers were rare beings and they guarded they power very closely. There could be only three of them at a time. The eldest amongst them – who was also their leader in a strange way – saw a threat in Rose and wanted to convince the Source to put her out of the way. The Source though found her more useful alive, butas he didn't want to infuriate the woman unnecessery, helet the Seer blindRose, which diminished her powers significantly.

She still had visions sometimes but they were usually blurry and hard to interpret. They only gave her a headache as she often complained.

"So, what was it about?" he asked again.

"You know I don't like to speak about them."

"And I don't like to sleep in demon-form!"

She smiled slightly.

"I can't talk about it because it's about you."

"And why can't you tell me?"

"Future consequences…"

"You talk like a witch!"

Her smile was broader and more honest this time.

"Why not? People in the town already think I'm one!"

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I saw a woman…" she said then quietly. "A woman who ruined you…"

Then she shook her head.

"It's a stupid thing, never mind. And it was far away in the future. Come and let's find a way how to put your hands on Zankou instead."

Cole half-heartedly agreed and followed her sister in the basement to check through the many magical books he stored up here during the years.

-----------------------


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Here's the next chapter, and as it seems there will be one more. You can call this an experimental chapter: I wanted to use an outsider's POV. I don't know how you will like it but the idea somehow didn't let me alone, nor did this character.

Thank you for reading, and please leave a review if you liked it!

**Chapter 4.**

Richard Logan has lived in the small town of Milford for the past thirty-three years of his life except the five that he spent with his studies in Boston. He was twenty-four when he moved back and he got a job as deputy in the sheriff's office. Then when the elder Sheriff Logan – who was his uncle, by the way - retired he was chosen as his successor. The job simply ran in the family. He took his job very seriously: he loved this town even if there was nothing special about it and nothing excited has happened in the last fifty years, or so. He cared for the citizens and they respected and liked him despite his relatively young age.

So it was natural that he went to visit Rose Turner as soon as he heard that a stranger was seen around her house. Yes, it was natural – it had nothing to do with the fact that he found Miss Turner quite attractive and even asked her out a few times. Those tries were not very successful though as Rose always had something else to do or at least so she said.

The cottage was well out of town, about three miles from town-centre and half a mile from the nearest neighbor. He still walked out there at least three times a week because– as he told himself and everybody else who asked – it could be dangerous for a young lady to live alone, especially as this young lady was blind as well. Most people only laughed about this. First, there was nothing really that people should be afraid of in this part of the country. And second, Rose Turner wasn't exactly an average woman – as the older inhabitants of the town used to say, she was one of those modern women, who were wearing trousers and talked like men and sometimes even smoked… in one world she washorrible.

Nevertheless he decided to visit her when Andrew Lloyd said that he saw an unknown man in her garden. It was part ofhis job after all to know about every single visitor who came to Milford.

When he arrived he found Rose in the garden while she was collecting some of the strange plants she cultured.

"Good morning, Miss Turner!" he said to gain her attention.

"Sheriff Logan! What brings you here?"

"I was just doing my usual patrol and wanted to make sure that everything is all right with you."

"Why wouldn't it be?" she asked putting down her small basket and walking over to the fence.

"Mr. Lloyd told me that he saw somebody lurking around your house."

"Lurking?" she echoed with a strange smile.

"Yes."

"And you wanted to check on it?" He never could know when she was sarcastic but this time he thought he recognized the tone.

"Well… I was worried about you…"

"That's really nice, but I'm all right. I'd told you before that I can take care of myself."

"I know, it's just…"

In that moment a man walked out of the house, carrying a book in his hand.

"I think I found…" then he trailed off as he glimpsed the visitor.

"Cole, this is our sheriff. Richard Logan" Rose said immediately. "Sheriff, this is my brother. He's staying here with me for a few days."

The two men shook hands, and Richard couldn't repress the jealous thought: _Is he really her brother? _But he had to admit that they looked similar in a way. He still looked the man up and down. He looked quite ragged: walked with a limp, there was a bandage around his left wrist and his face was bruised and cut in more places.

"Did you have some kind of accident?"

Turner raised an eyebrow and for a moment Richard thought that he wouldn't answer.

"You can say so" he told then. "Industrial accident."

"Really? What do you do for living?"

"What's your guess?"

"If this happened during work, I would say you're a boxer."

"It's a close shot." But he didn't say anything more. There was a short uneasy silence.

"Well… I better get going…" Richard said then. "I hope I see you later on the festival."

"I don't think so" Rose said quickly. "My brother needs his rest after his accident and we have a lot to talk about."

"Yes I can imagine. You surely don't see each-other so often, as we haven't seen him around in the last five years."

"You know, I travel a lot" the mysterious brother answered. Richard didn't like how this man eyed him. Not at all.

"I'm sure then that you will appreciate our little town… and the fair. We like visitors…"

"We might go, but I won't promise anything" Rose said, obviously just to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"All right… I better get going then" he said with not much enthusiasm. "Good bye."

He shook hands again with the brother and waved at Rose, then left. But he stopped after a few meters to turn into the woods. He didn't really know why he did it but he hurried forward and arrived at the back of the garden where the hedge was saw high that he could calmly stand there without being seen.

He was suspicious about this man. He looked as if he had been in a battle. What 'industrial accident' can cause such injuries? Richard couldn't think of any. And Turner had the eyes of a predator – Richard saw such looks in Boston during his training for the police. Those were the eyes of a criminal.

The siblings were still in the garden and he could hear every word clearly.

"Don't do this, your wrist is still broken…" Rose was telling at the moment.

"All right, but look at this! I think this one might work…"

_What did he mean by look at this? Rose couldn't see, she was blind…_

Unfortunately the hedge prevented him from taking a look at them so he just listen. They were quiet for a moment and then Rose said:

"I could brew this for you … but we will need a few ingredients so I have to go into town…"

"We could visit that festival after all."

"I didn't think you want to be seen."

"I already have been seen by the sheriff and I'm sure he's suspicious about me… or just jealous?"

"Shut up."

"Why? He seemed to be very interested in you!"

"Oh, right."

"You deserve some entertainment as well…"

"Stop this please or I'll close away all the painkillers in the house!"

"You wouldn't do that!"

"You know I would. Back to the topic!"

"Okay… it doesn't work if I just throw it at him…"

"What do you want to do then? Make him drink it somehow?"

"I studied him. He always makes some of his minions try everything before him… I thought about a syringe."

"Then you have to be very close though…"

"I can handle a little more beating."

"Sure."

"I have to win back His trust, Rose" the man said seriously.

"Has he ever trusted you?"

"As much as he trusts anybody."

Their voice came from a longer distance now and Richard guessed that they were walking back into the house. What could have they been talking about. It sounded as a plan some kind of assassination… Or it could be something total innocent, as well. He slowly moved backwards and decided that he would check on this Cole Turner when he's back in his office.

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Later he couldn't tell why he wanted to come with them. Maybe it was destiny. Maybe just stupidity. But in the end it was absolutely unimportant.

He just wanted to make sure that Rose was really okay, that this man really was his brother and not some kind of serial-killer that took her as a hostage and forced her to tell he was his brother. He also wanted to make sure that Turner didn't do anything illegal while he was in town.

Anyway, when he met them in the town coming out ofthe drug-store,he decided to accompany them home and so he was there when things turned crazy.

They were walking on the road that led through the forest when Rose and his brother stopped at the same moment.

"Something's wrong…" Rose said quietly and Cole nodded.

"There are at least five of them… behind the trees" he whispered.

"Five of whom?" Richard asked confused.

"Ssh… Let's go on!" Turner said, but they couldn't take more than a few steps when something flew out of the forest.

The thing that flew out was the strangest object Richard has ever seen: he couldn't describe it other than a ball-form lightning. He just stood there and stared until somebody tackled him to the ground. It was Turner.

The strange ball was followed by six even stranger figures… men…creatures… or whatever. They were all different in form. Two of them looked almost like normal men but wore black-leather clothes. Two others had faces like the devil itself: they were scarred, eyes sunken deep and glowing red and they claws instead of fingers. The fifth had blue skin and only one eye in the middle of his bumpy forehead. The sixth didn't even look vaguely human: it had fur all over its head and fangs in its dog-like jaw.

_This must be a nightmare..._ Richard thought. Fortunately the creatures didn't care about him. They attacked the Turners. Cole took four of them: they were circling around him like animals but it didn't seem as if they could scare the man.

What happened next Richard couldn't really follow with his eyes. Cole Turner moved with inhuman speed as he threw some of those strange balls Richard had seen before. Two attackers burs into flames and disappeared. Richard gasped. A third one fell to the ground and didn't move. Only one of the scarred-faced stayed standing but he was much better than the others. It seemed that the two fighters were even. Cole dodged every ball the monster threw at him but the monster did the same.

Then Scarred Face – as Richard called him in his thoughts – jumped forward and pulled Cole with himself. They were wrestling on the ground and a few seconds later they disappeared behind the trees.

Richard turned and looked at Rose on the other side of the road. The furry animal was crouching on the ground growling menacingly at the woman but didn't make a move. The other, the blue, one-eyed one stood opposite her frozen on the spot like a statue with a knife in his left hand. Rose stood with outstretched arms and her eyes… well, her eyes turned into a misty shade white.

It seemed to Richard as if Rose had kept them in this state… somehow.

The confused sheriff staggered to the feet and stepped closer. Rose's head turned slightly to the movement and her eyes went back normal.

"Stay there…" she said and he stopped frozen. Not just because Rose told him to do so, but because in the same moment both creatures started to move. The blue one moved forward at Rose and the animal looked at him with his yellow eyes.

Rose concentrated back on the attackers.

"You can't move!" she ordered and the 'something' froze immediately. The animal though didn't react, it watched Richard with hungry eyes.

Richard grabbed at his belt where he usually kept his gun but of course it wasn't there. It was safely closed in, in his office. _Shit!_

The beast came much closer… He knew animals and knew that this one was just before attacking and he could do nothing to prevent it.

In the same second as the beast jumped at him, Rose's concentration cracked and the blue guy attacked her with the knife. This was the last thing Richard saw before the animal launched into him and tackled him to the ground. He felt hard, hitting his head into the concrete.

He saw the face of the creature in front of his eyes and he tried to somehow push it down but didn't manage. It was too heavy and too strong, he could barely breathe under the weight. This was obviously the end.

The creature's claws stung into his shoulder and its jaw tightened around his left forearm. It hurt more than anything else in his entire life. He cried out in pain.

Then he heard some sizzling sound and the weight suddenly disappeared from his chest. Together with his consciousness…

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When he woke up, he felt warm and he was sweating heavily but he was lying in a bed, that much was sure. He heard voices but didn't have the strength to open eyes and look at the speakers. But he could hear them clearly.

"What did you find?" a woman asked.

He recognized the voice: it was Rose Turner.

"Was he bitten?"

"Yes." A man answered.

"Shit…"

"Yes."

"I'll bring something for the wounds. Take care of him until then…"

He must have fallen back into oblivion because the next time he became aware of his surroundings he felt bandages around his shoulder. But he still couldn't open his eyes and his whole body was trembling.

He could hear them talking again.

"… you did well with that Zaphire-demon" Cole said.

"Thanks. I thought I'm not in practice anymore. Zankou sent them?"

"Yes. I asked the derox before I killed it. This means I have to work quicker…"

"I'm already brewing the potion for you. It will be ready in a few hours…"

Richard fell back into the darkness.

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"How is he?" the man asked and Richard realized that they were talking about him now.

"Not well. He won't change now, though. But he will next month… I have to take him away…

_What the hell were they talking about? _He wanted to ask but he managed only a short moan.

"Sheriff…" Rose was at his side and he felt gentle fingers on his forehead… With some struggle he managed to open his eyes.

"What…?" he stuttered.

"You got injured, but everything is all right now. Just rest!"

"No!" He tried to sit up, but Rose pushed him back. "What were those creatures?" he whispered.

"Demons." It was Cole who answered.

"What?"

"Demons from the Underworld. Or hell if you want."

"Oh…my…" he breathed. _Are they mad? Or is he? Could he believe this? _

"And you? Why… did they attack us?"

He wanted to hear that they were the good guys but he didn't have that luck…

"I'm a demon as well." Turner said simply. "And now you're one of us."

"W-what… do you mean?"

"You were bitten by a werewolf."

"I… can't believe this…"

And with that he blacked out again.

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They were still there… He heard them again: those crazy people who talked about demons. But why was he so hot? And why did his arm throb with pain? He has never felt such pain in his life, not even when it was broken in two places…

"You shouldn't have told him so straightforward" Rose told accusingly.

"He should be aware of his situation. Do you really want to take him with you?"

"I can't leave him here. He wouldn't want to endanger his home-town…"

"Since when do you care for humans?"

"Since I have to live amongst them. And don't tell me that you have never done anything 'human'. On the other hand Richard isn't human anymore!"

"Is he Richard now? It's dangerous to pet a werewolf…"

"Stop this right now, okay?"

"All right. You don't have to bite down my head. Do you need help with the moving?"

"I think I can arrange that much!"

"Of course, you can."

"I'll go into the mountains for a while and then move into another small town."

"Where?"

"No idea. What do you think about Derry?"

"Isn't it too close? And I heard that it's not a very good town…"

"It's good enough for our kind. And I like Maine."

"What about your stuff? And mine by the way."

"I can hide everything. These people don't know about magic. I could come back for them later."

_Magic? _Richard opened his eyes and looked around. He felt a little bit better now.

He was lying on an old couch, in a room he has never seen before.

"Where are we?" he asked making the others aware of himself.

"In my house. In the basement to be precise" Rose answered.

The walls were packed full with thick books and different kind of vials, in some of them were very strange ingredients, like different kind of bugs.

"You're really demons, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What have I fallen into?" he buried his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry." Rose sat down next to him. "How's your arm?"

He just shook his head.

"You still have fever" the woman noted.

"Is he really your brother?" he asked hoarsely, looking up at Cole who was standing at the wall leaning against one of the full-packed cupboards. He looked even more battered than before.

"Yes."

"Then you're…"

"Yes."

"I better leave now" Cole cut in before Richard could ask more questions.

"The potion is ready" Rose answered. "Try not to die."

Cole smiled slightly, took a small bag that was at the feet of the couch and just… vanished.

"What the hell…" Richard exclaimed involuntary.

"It's called shimmering. Demons usually travel this way" Rose explained.

"Where did he go?"

"Finish his assignment."

"Which means?"

"Which means that he might die tonight…" Rose answered sadly.

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	5. Chapter 5

AN: This is the last chapter of this story. I hope you like it! Please tell me what you think - I'm a little down nowadays, so some reviews would be really nice! Thank you for reading!

**Chapter 5.**

The bar looked almost like a normal one up on the surface. Cole had the opportunity to visit some human bars and he could tell that there was not much difference. Except the customers, of course.

He was sitting at a back table from where he could observe the whole room. He stayed unseen though: he was wearing a black cloak and the hood of it covered a good part of his face. He didn't want to be recognized until the last possible moment. This was Zankou's territory and Cole was sure that he already managed to get a place on the demon's black-list.

After failing in surprise he decided to meet the enemy straight. It was probably a suicide mission but his choices were limited: be here and try what he can and probably suffer a painful death in the end… or go back to the Source with bare hands and _suffer a painful death there! _Really nice prospects…

And Rose was always wondering how he became sarcastic!

As soon as Rose came to his mind he regretted it. Now, he had something else to worry about. What the hell will she do with that sheriff? He knew of course that his sister could take care of herself, after all she lived in the Underworld for almost twenty years. But still… Rose was blind and had no active powers. Yes, her telepathic abilities could be quite useful but she couldn't maintain her hold longer than a few minutes, and it was practically useless against upper-level demons.

He shook his head to make these irrelevant thoughts disappear. He had to concentrate on the job at hand if he wanted a chance at surviving.

He didn't have to wait long until Zankou and his branch appeared. Every demon in the bar welcomed him with respect but he soon vanished behind a door and life went back to normal. Cole stood up and walked over to that door. A bodyguard stood there and stopped him immediately. Cole could identify him as a Brute Demon.

"What do you want?" the bodyguard asked roughly.

"I have to talk to Zankou."

"He doesn't accept visitors" the demon declared.

"This is important" Cole insisted. "I have news about his enemies."

"He knows everything that is worth to know."

"Good, but his life is in danger. They found a way to get to him."

With that he turned to go away but the guard called out:

"Stop!"

He turned back again and looked at the demon expectantly.

"Wait here!" And he went inside the private room. Cole waited there a few minutes until he came back.

"Zankou will see you now. But before that…" he waved for him stand still and Cole knew what he wanted. He stood patiently until the bodyguard searched him with professional movements. Both of his athames were taken away but the guard fortunately didn't find the small syringe that Cole kept in a hidden pocket.

"And now drink this!" he gave over a small vial.

"What is this?" Cole asked suspiciously.

"A power-blocking potion. You can't go in with your powers active."

Cole took the vial hesitantly and then drank its content with two huge gulps.

"Now, come with me!"

They went by two other bodyguards and stepped into a cosy room. There was a table in the middle set with elegant dishes. Zankou was sitting there with to women by his side. Three other demons were also present in the room. Zankou looked up when they stepped in.

"Show me your face!" he ordered and Cole pushed back his hood. Zankou smiled.

"It's you? Kill him, he's an assassin!" he ordered.

Cole had an advantage though at the moment: the bodyguards thought that he lost his powers temporarily but this wasn't true. Every assassin with a little common sense would count on something like a power-blocking potion and he took the antidote just in time to prevent every effect.

He simply shot out one energy ball with both hands and killed the two bodyguards who stood in the two opposite corners. His best weapons were speed and surprise at this point. Everything happened in about five seconds: the two demons burst into flames and Cole jumped over the dining table tackling Zankou to the ground and at the same time taking out the syringe. He pushed its content in the neck of the demon. It took effect almost immediately but Zankou still had the time to use his power and sent Cole flying into the opposite wall.

He landed exactly next to the door. Fortunately so, because he heard running footsteps. With a quick movement he closed the special lock on the door. In a bar like this there were always safety catches on doors, if the room was for private use. There was no way those outside could open it up. Maybe they could blow it, if they were strong enough, but the bodyguards were all Brute demons and they preferred physical power.

Cole stood up, choosing to ignore his protesting body and quickly finished up a third male demon. There were three more to go: the two women who he now recognized as phoenixes – which was not very good, and the fourth bodyguard who escorted him in. At least Zankou was out. He collapsed to the floor totally limp and didn't move anymore. The next task was to get to the body and shimmer out with it. Fortunately not one of the bodyguards thought about to take their boss away. They concentrated on the assassin.

From the corner of his eyes he saw a flying object and without thinking about what it could be, he dodged it.

But couldn't dodge the second one. The athame plunged deep into his left side, just under the ribs. He was trained though to stay focused in every situation. He pulled out the knife with a harsh movement splashing blood everywhere and threw it into the female assassin who stood over Zankou's body. It hit her neck and she was dead or at least deadly injured with that.

The other woman screamed out and as she already lost her weapon she simply jumped at Cole. He fell to the floor and the phoenix started to punch at him, concentrating on his profusely bleeding wound.

It didn't help either that this whole ordeal made many of his older wounds open again. As a half-demon he healed quickly, but only three days went by since his last encounter with Zankou and it was of course not enough.

He growled loudly and changed into hid demon form. This didn't scare away the phoenix but the kick in her stomach helped a great deal. She fell backwards and Belthazor – though a little bit shakily – stood up. He grabbed the woman's longish hair and pulled her up, then pushed her against the wall. Her head hit the wall quite hard but she still looked at the demon defiantly and clearly didn't want to give up the fight. She didn't have much chance though. The demon simply grabbed her throat and broke the neck with a single motion, then pushed the lifeless body to the floor.

The remaining guard attacked from behind and only his sharp instincts saved Belthazor's life. He moved in the last moment and so the knife only cut into his right upper-arm. He turned quickly and grabbed the demon's arm just in the moment as he wanted to strike again. The bone in the attacker's arm cracked loudly as he wrenched it firmly. The energy-ball he shot out literally went through the demon's mid-section and Belthazor growled triumphantly as his opponent went up in flames.

Then he changed back into human form and stumbled. He had to lean against the wall and took a few deep breathes. The door of the room was shaking madly under the magical attack from outside. Cole steadied himself and hurried to Zankou's body, took hold of it and disappeared.

He shimmered to the Source's quarter. By that time everything seemed to be in a fog for him, but he still recognized Declan easily. The leading guard gaped at him and at his prisoner. Cole let go of Zankou's limp body and it fell to the floor with a thud.

"Tell our Liege that I completed my mission" he said hoarsely and then everything went black as he collapsed next to Zankou.

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When he woke up he was still in a lot of pain but could open his eyes and look around. He was in a chamber of some kind and was lying in a bed. He saw three women buzzing around his bed, preparing bandages and healing potions.

"Oh, you're up!" one of them said.

"Where am I?" he asked confused.

"In one of the Source's private chambers. Our Majesty ordered us to take care of you. He awaits you if you feel up to it."

He slowly sat up but had to close his eyes when the searing pain attacked all his senses.

Two women were at his side immediately. _They must be healers, _he thought.

"You've been injured badly, sir. You should let us help you!"

"No."

He waved them away and staggered to the feet. In that moment he realized that he didn't have much clothing on.

"Where are my clothes?" he asked the woman who seemed to be senior here.

"They were bloody all over, sir…"

"Right. In this case, do you have something for me to wear?" he asked dryly.

"Of course, sir."

The woman waved at one of the younger ones who quickly conjured up a pair of black trousers and a black shirt from somewhere. They were made of the finest material that was used in the Underworld.

Cole has never been treated with much respect, not even by the lower servants of the Source, but these women were obviously ordered to treat him like a nobility. Maybe he would get something else than punishment for a change.

He dressed – more slowly than he wanted but he was still weak, he had to admit – and turned back to the healer.

"Lead me to our Lord then!"

The woman bowed her head and led him out of the chamber and through some dimly lit tunnels until they arrived at the place where he had shimmered to before.

Declan was still there and Cole recognized some surprising respect in his eyes as well. He knew it wouldn't last long but it was still satisfying.

"The Source awaits you!" Declan said and ordered the other guards to open the door for him.

Cole stepped inside and found the Source there, sitting in his usual chair.

"Belthazor! Come near, my friend!"

Cole stepped closer and bowed his head. The Source seemed to be in a very good mood. He didn't have his usual hood on and there was something on his face that looked almost like a smile.

"I'm very satisfied with you, Belthazor! And I decided that you deserve a reward. You can ask for anything you want!"

'Anything he wants' was of course an exaggeration and Cole didn't dare to test his luck. He didn't know what the Source would have done if he asked – for example – for his father's soul. So he decided to stay on the safer side.

"Thank you my Lord, but my reward is to serve you well."

The Source nodded showing that he appreciated the answer.

"However," Cole continued carefully "I think I could serve you better if I had a little time to rest. I would spend a few days with my sister if you don't mind…"

A shadow swept over the Ruler's face but it vanished quickly.

"I see, you still have your weak points, half-breed."

Cole tensed inwardly but didn't let his emotions show on his face.

"But on the other hand" the Source continued "you proved to be very useful today… so be it! I know you won't betray me again…"

"Never, my Liege!" Cole bowed his head in a submissive manner and he meant what he said. He really didn't need another lecture about that, thank you very much!

"Go then! I'll tell Raynor where you are and you report to him in ten days time!"

With that he was dismissed and without further ado Cole shimmered out of the Underworld.

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End file.
